The last few years the meditation hype has exploded in Western media, as if this ancient practice is some new fad trend. Meditation has been around forever and the fact that its streetcred is finally picking up, is good news because everyone can benefit from incorporating a meditation practice into their lives.
Here are a few tips to incorporate meditating into your busy life:
Consistency over length
Finding some time every day or a couple days a week to sit still and meditate will increase the quality of your life. It doesn't have to be 30 minutes every day, with just 5-10 minutes you will feel the benefits! Make it achievable by keeping the meditations on the shorter side, you want to cultivate this habit. Not just do it once and forget it forever.
Work your way up to 10 minutes a day by scheduling your meditation time down in your planner or on an alarm on your phone. Start with 5 minutes and over time, increase it to 10 minutes.
Try your meditations out on different times of the day to find out what feels good for you. I like to do mine in the mornings to start my day off in a positive mindset, but maybe you'll find it easier to stick to a pre-bed routine or reap most of the effect during your lunchtime break. When you find what works for you then you want to build your scheduling around it.
2. Make a cozy meditation corner...
...but know that you can meditate anywhere, even on the bus! However, when you meditate at home, why not make the whole experience pleasurable: light a candle, have some pillows and cozy blankets nearby and make sure no-one will disturb you.
3. Different meditations for different occasions
If you tried a meditation and didn't like it, don't completely write off meditation yet. There are so many different styles, forms, genres and coaches out there. You want to find the ones that you enjoy and use different meditations for different occasions.
If you are at work or on the bus, you can just close your eyes and focus on your breath. That's meditating! You can count to 4 during your inhale, hold at the top and count for 4, exhale count for 4 and hold at the bottom count for 4 & repeat ... that's a great breathing meditation!
You can repeat mantras and affirmations. You can visualize and use your imagination. You can find all different types of guided meditations online.
There are meditations for anxiety, bedtime, mornings, grief, depression, manifestation,...
Try our 10 minute meditation for self care on the Bodhiac YouTube channel!
On Bodhiac we offer a wide variety of meditations with various coaches. More coming soon!